Scott Buresh, 36, was a musician who wanted to improve his search engine optimization to better market his band. Along the way, he learned so much about SEO that he decided to spin his existing web design firm, Medium Blue, into an SEO company. With $500 out-of-pocket and an equal investment from a former bandmate who has since left the company, he purchased a business license, paid his registration fees and set up a website.

The business started off in Buresh's home and stayed that way until 2002. "When you're living hand-to-mouth early in your business, it really forces you to evaluate everywhere your money's going," he says. If he had started with hundreds of thousands of dollars, he predicts his business would have flopped because he would have spent so much effort and money on hiring employees and creating an impressive office before he had a viable business plan.

Buresh's company may have started out as a full-service web design firm, but it truly found its niche helping companies increase visits to their websites from search engines. Buresh attributes his success to refusing to take on any debt and letting his prospective clients define his company's service offerings. In December 2006, PromotionWorld.com named Medium Blue the number-one SEO firm, and the company projects sales of $2.5 million for 2007.